


Dreams Begin & Nightmares End

by sayonarabbh (smallchittaphon)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Character Death, M/M, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-10-19 21:16:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10648206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallchittaphon/pseuds/sayonarabbh
Summary: Park Chanyeol has been spending every night in his new apartment dealing with nightmares. One day, a friendly neighbor with kind eyes and a kittenish smile manages to spin his nightmares into the sweetest of dreams.





	Dreams Begin & Nightmares End

**Author's Note:**

> Orginially posted [here](http://dinoandtiger.livejournal.com/4723.html) for Dino and Tiger's 1st round.

Chanyeol remembers exactly when his nightmares started. He remembers waking up, sheets drenched in his own sweat. His throat burns and his body aches when his mom comes running in to comfort him. The spiderman clock on his bedside table reads 3:30am as she holds him, her nimble fingers against his scalp and lower back.

“You were screaming, are you okay?” His mom asks, her voice barely a whisper. He shuts his eyes again, face pressing further into his mother’s chest.

“It was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real,” he whines, tears streaming down his cheeks. His mother cooes, thumb pressing gently against his cheek, coming off wet with his tears. “You’re right, it isn’t real, baby,” she replies, voice calming and soothing enough to lull Chanyeol back to sleep.

Chanyeol was only seven then.

Now, at the ripe age of 23, Chanyeol still has nightmares. They’re frequent and intense and only seem to have gotten worse with time. The only difference is he’s on his own now. An independent, fine young man ready to lend a hand in any time.

Chanyeol’s always happy, so much so that he practically generates happiness. Days go by with no mention of his night terrors. Jongin would’ve believed he was always like this if he didn’t live with Chanyeol.

The first time Chanyeol woke up screaming in his new dorm room, Jongin practically jumped out of his skin.

“Shit, are you okay?” Jongin asks, hands lifting Chanyeol arms and legs to make sure nothing is hurt. His eyes searching frantically to make sure no one is in their room.

Chanyeol sighs, falling back against the mattress with a thump and curling around his pillow when Jongin tries to soothe him. “I have nightmares,” Chanyeol states, fingers curling around the fabric of his pillowcase.

Jongin laughs, “Don’t we all?”

“No,” Chanyeol sighs. He sits up, knees up and his pillow still in his hold, “I mean since I was seven, every night without fail I have a nightmare. I always wake up screaming and sweating. It’s just always been a thing.”

Jongin pats Chanyeol’s foot softly, “That sucks. Looks like I’m going to have to invest in ear muffs.” He smiles softly and Chanyeol smiles back. He laughs and soon enough Jongin joins in, his eyes crinkling in the cutest way as he hits Chanyeol foot repeatedly.

Jongin’s nice and maybe that’s why Chanyeol dates Jongin for a year.

“Do you love him?” Minseok finally asks, his eyes not leaving his laptop. Chanyeol hums, leans into his hand and sips on his lemonade, “You’re taking to long to answer, so that’s a no,” Minseok adds, eyes coming to meet Chanyeol’s briefly before going back to his laptop.

Chanyeol pouts, “You don’t know how I feel. Maybe I do love Jongin. He’s a great guy, he’s practically everyone’s ideal type.”

“Yes, but is he your ideal type?” Minseok counters, leaving an utterly confused Chanyeol even more stumped.

“He’s a grea-”

“Chanyeol, I’ve known you for 13 years. I can tell when you’re settling. Don’t let him be another Kyungsoo. You only really like him because he’s great in bed.” Minseok shrugs, bringing his mug up to lips once he finishes.

“That’s not true and Kyungsoo was different!” Chanyeol tries to defend himself but it’s a weak attempt and Minseok can see right through him.

“So he isn’t great in bed?” Minseok inquires, one eyebrow quirked up.

“Oh, god no. He’s amazing in bed,” Chanyeol moans around his straw. “He’s an amazing person.” Chanyeol nods to prove his point, to reassure himself.

“But do you love him?” Minseok asks again. It scares Chanyeol how unsure he is. Does Chanyeol love Jongin or is he really just settling?

Chanyeol and Jongin break up the following Thursday.

 

-

  
“This apartment is spacious.” Kyungsoo comments when he walks in behind Minseok. He spins around, getting a good look at it all before sitting on the couch. He mewls, sinking into the soft cushions and relaxes. “The furniture actually matches. You know I was so worried you wouldn’t be able to do this by yourself but then again, you went to Ikea. It’s just a color scheme of black, white and reds.”

“I was wondering why this sofa looked familiar. I have the exact same one in the sims!” Minseok almost laughs, his hand touching the sofa. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes, lightly slapping Minseok’s thigh before Minseok takes hold of his hand. Chanyeol makes a gagging noise before moving to lay on both their laps.

Chanyeol can’t remember when the two started dating but it’s been way too long. Longer than any of Chanyeol’s relationships, and definitely longer than the month Chanyeol dated Kyungsoo because he was nice. Why does he end up settling for any living human that gives him the slightest hint of affection?

“So, are you the only one on this floor or do you have a neighbor?” Kyungsoo asks, fingers still fumbling with MInseok’s.

Chanyeol remembers vividly how animated the landlord was while she talked about his neighbor. “Such a sweet boy, that Jongdae is.” She nudged Chanyeol with her arm, “And if you’re into men, he’s easy on the eyes.” He coughed uncomfortably, obviously, but she was completely oblivious to that.

“She said his name was Jongdae, I believe. I don’t know I haven’t seen anyone on this floor since I’ve been here.” Chanyeol states, hauling himself up off the couple and towards the kitchen.

“Maybe he’s a high end escort and is rarely home because he’s off pleasing some sugar daddy,” Minseok suggests, dodging the swing Kyungsoo directs toward him and making his way to sit on the a barstool, getting a different view of Chanyeol’s new apartment. “Or,” Kyungsoo adds, moving to stand by Minseok and wrap an arm around his waist, “He could be a really successful business owner and married to his job. A workaholic.”

MInseok snickers, “I’m sticking to my male escort theory.”

 

-

  
Chanyeol doesn’t meet Jongdae the way he hopes to.

_3:30 a.m._

Chanyeol groans, head falling back on his pillows and he whimpers. His throat burns with the echos of his screams. He brings a hand up to rub his throat and thinks about getting some water.

It’s always the same dream. Chanyeol in complete darkness, in a cooler, hiding. He hears his dad, yelling. Why is he yelling? _“Stay quiet, Chanyeol. Mommy will come and get you when everything is okay.”_ She smiles down at him before the lid closes and there’s a click of the lock, footsteps retreating soon after.

Can he even consider it a dream when it actually happened? When his dad was so abusive and toxic? But it’s been years. Years since his father finally drowned himself in alcohol. Years since his mom became the happiest she could be, no longer tied down to someone so evil, but now caring for a son who was so traumatized, his abusive father was all he could see when he laid down to sleep.

Chanyeol whimpers again, softly against his pillow. The ringing in his ears stops long enough for him to hear the loud, rushed banging on his door. He sits up, perplexed at the thought of someone being at his door so early in the morning. No one lives this floor except for… _Jongdae_.

He throws back his sheets, leg get caught before he’s stumbling to the front door. Once he gets closer he can hear Jongdae calling out. “Hey! Is everything okay in there?”

Chanyeol opens the door right before Jongdae knocks again.

Jongdae is short and well kept. His hair is curled and frames his face, making it looking rounder than it probably is. His lips curl like his hair at the corners, giving him an animated sort of look. He _is_ easy on the eyes, Chanyeol notes. The landlady was right.

“Hey, are you okay? I heard you screaming when I was passing by and it didn’t sound like screams of pleasure,” Jongdae asks, a hint of amusement at the end of his sentence even if he does seem genuinely concerned.

Chanyeol waves him off, “It was just a nightmare. No biggie.” Jongdae visibly jumps at Chanyeol’s voice. His eyebrows pull together and he frowns, “Do you always have these nightmares?” Jongdae follows up, his features softening as he looks up at Chanyeol.

“Uh, yeah but I’m alright, really.” Chanyeol waves off. His fingers tap against the door frame as Jongdae stays put, completely unconvinced.

“I would ask if you wanna talk about it but we just met. I'm Jongdae,” he says, extending his hand for a shake.Chanyeol reaches out to take Jongdae’s smaller hand in his own.

“Chanyeol.”

 

-

  
Jongdae becomes a constant in Chanyeol’s life after their first encounter.

It’s not planned, or so Jongdae says, But everyday at _3:35 a.m_ on the dot Jongdae stops by Chanyeol’s apartment to invite him over for tea. The day after their initial encounter, Jongdae had chuckled breathlessly when the door swung open. “I heard you again,” Chanyeol smiles coyly, an apology on his lips, “I’m sorry, I must be keeping you up.”

Jongdae’s shoulders sag and he leans against the door frame. “Let me invite you for late night tea.” It’s like he’s thrown a curveball at Chanyeol. He doesn’t know what to do. Jongdae moves to pull the strap of his bag up higher on his shoulder.

“Coming or not?” Jongdae prompts once more before making way to his door.

“Y-yeah,” Chanyeol stutters, slipping on his shoes before blindly grabbing his keys and shutting the door behind him.

Jongdae laughs one he catches a glimpse of the way Chanyeol had put on his shoes, the backs all smashed and folded down in a way that’s sure to ruin them. His door swings open and he gestures, “Ladies first.” He jokes as Chanyeol starts walking in. “Hey!” Chanyeol whines, throwing a quick pout in Jongdae’s general direction before turning to take in his surroundings.

Jongdae’s apartment looks much like his own but without the homey touches. It’s neat in here. _Too clean_ , almost as if no one lives here.

“Are we in the right apartment?” Chanyeol asks, the nice silk curtains catching his attention shortly after. “Whoa,” He mumbles as he makes his way to touch them. Jongdae smiles softly, “It’s neat because I only come home to sleep. I’m rarely here.”

Chanyeol quirks an eyebrow at that. Maybe Minseok was right about the whole male escort thing.

“I’m a first year resident at the hospital down the street. They like to keep us on our toes over there,” Jongdae clarifies, his mannerisms becoming timid when he says it aloud－like he can’t believe it himself. “So,” he claps his hands, “I’ll start on that tea. Make yourself at home.” He gestures towards the living room and then turns to leave.

“A doctor?” Chanyeol whispers to himself. Man, they were way off. He can’t wait to tell the guys.

 

-

  
Except, it’s been months now and he still hasn’t told the guys about his 3 a.m. routine with Jongdae.

He can’t remember when he let himself be so open with someone he only talks too for an hour or two at dawn every day over tea. The conversation never feels forced or uncomfortable but always flows naturally and Chanyeol finds himself connecting with Jongdae more than he anticipated. Jongdae is one of those people who make you feel right at home when you’re with them Jongdae is one of those people who make you feel right at home when you’re with them. Ever since Chanyeol moved out on his own, he’s never once gotten home sick but with Jongdae, it’s too comforting－too close to home.

Jongdae is like the feeling you get when you sit by a body of water in complete silence, your ears trained on the sound of the water lapping up on the shore, meeting the land and then retracting back into itself. He’s calming, serene. Chanyeol very much so holds on to that and Jongdae lets him.

He even lets Chanyeol test the waters and invites him to sleep over once or twice. They turn out to be the best nights of sleep Chanyeol has gotten since he can remember; it doesn’t escape Jongdae’s notice.

“I’ve noticed that you’re calmer here,” He casually brings up over tea one night. Chanyeol nods in agreement because it’s true. Chanyeol is restless anywhere else but at Jongdae’s place.

“I’ve made something for you,” Jongdae adds, reaching into his pocket and gesturing for Chanyeol to hold out a hand. He does with hesitance and closes his eyes. The weight is light in his hand when Jongdae let’s it drop. Chanyeol peeks with one eye first and swears he’s seeing wrong.

But he’s not when he opens the other eye.

“Is this a key to your apartment?” Chanyeol gulps, his fingers grazing the key. It has Darth Vader on the front and a squad of stormtroopers on the back when he flips it over. “And it’s customized?” Chanyeol presses for Jongdae to answer. Jongdae laughs, “You mentioned you liked Star Wars before. It was either that or Hello Kitty.”

“Hello Kitty would’ve been cool, too,” Chanyeol jokes, winking at Jongdae just to tease the other. “But yes, it’s the key to my apartment. Just for one of those days I don’t come home from work and you need to feel calm. Come over, have tea, maybe even sleep here if you want,” Jongdae shrugs, avoiding eye contact and lifting his mug to take a sip in a way that’s probably supposed to look casual but just barely misses the mark. Chanyeol looks down at the key again and suddenly feels like it carries so much more meaning than Jongdae is letting on.

“Thank you, Jongdae,” Chanyeol whispers, clutching the key and beaming at him. Jongdae snickers, “Stop smiling like that, or I’ll be the one with nightmares.”

Chanyeol laughs when Jongdae gives him a teasing punch on the forearm. Here, in Jongdae’s apartment, Chanyeol memorizes the weight of the key in his hand and can’t help but feel like they’re on the cusp of something special. Jongdae means well and Chanyeol really doesn’t want to lose it all.

Jongdae’s a keeper.


End file.
